Qualitative Study of Student's Learning Information Technology via a Cooperative Approach

The need for learners to interact cooperatively and work toward group goals undoubtedly increased during the 1990s. Educational researchers and teachers all pressed for a change and accentuated the need for a more studentactive, social, as well as cooperative approach to school work. As society changes and information technology becomes more and more important, schools must place an increased emphasis on students’ ability to search for information and knowledge, and to study critically. Students must be given opportunities to solve problems, to be creative, and to take initiative on their own. Yet in Taiwan, education traditionally has emphasized individual competition and achievement, an approach that results in winners and losers and sometimes produces outright hostility among learners. Furthermore, research on the instruction of computers in Taiwan reveals that classroom instruction frequently is dominated the use of lectures. A project to design student-centered, and team-based, learning information technology is an important and worthwhile endeavor. The theoretical advantages of cooperative instruction have long been acknowledged and have been extensively practiced in the classroom. Cooperative learning is a pedagogical technique that has students work together in small, fixed groups on a structured learning task with the aim of maximizing their own and each other's learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1987). Johnson et al. (1991) emphasizes that five basic elements are necessary for effective use of the method: positive group interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face interaction, social skills training, and group processing. In the current study, Johnson and Johnson's Learning Together approach is employed for its emphasis on group learning instead of competition. The Learning Together approach involves a more collaborative model in which students are directed to coordinate their efforts toward task completion with less emphasis on competition. The exploratory study investigates the learners’ perceptions and attitudes toward the cooperative approach. 2. Methodology